


Perform Grand Romantic Gesture +3000 Aspiration

by elsandry



Category: The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-23
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-05 17:09:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1096438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elsandry/pseuds/elsandry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mortimer Goth's grand romantic guesture.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perform Grand Romantic Gesture +3000 Aspiration

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aeiouna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeiouna/gifts).



> I played a little fast and loose with regards to canon. In my defense, Maxis did it first. How many different careers have we seen Mortimer in, over the various games?

Mortimer is 17 the first time it comes up. He's staying late at school, putting the finishing touches on a lab report, with Bella assisting him. Their interests have, by that point, diverged enough that they seldom have classes together, but Mortimer would still rather have her as a lab partner than anyone actually taking the class. Bella may not be driven by knowledge the way he is, but she is brilliant nonetheless; and she consistently thinks before she acts, questioning everything, in a way that he is beginning to realize is not common at all. 

Mortimer is frowning over his conclusion, when Bella says, not looking away from the graph in front of her, "Have you ever noticed that Sunset Valley sounds like the name of a retirement home?" 

Mortimer pauses, his train of thought completely derailed. "No, I can honestly say I've never thought about that." 

Bella makes a final adjustment to the graph and pushes her chair back from the desk. "Think about it. It sounds like it belongs in a commercial with smiling old people enjoying games of chess in front of a fireplace." 

Mortimer shakes his head and returns his attention to the report in front of him. "It's just a name. Sometimes I don't understand you at all." She lets it go, but it's not the last time they discuss it. 

The lab report, when he finishes, is more than adequate for his rather indifferent teacher. The writing and data are solid, and Bella's eye for design helps him present it in the best possible way. He may not understand Bella, but he can't imagine doing without her. 

 

College takes them both away from Sunset Valley, but they don't go far. Mortimer returns because, given the kind of research he wants to do, he'll never find better opportunities than those in his own home town. Bella comes back because, underneath all the jokes, she truly and simply loves the place. She's spoken of her desire for a family, and Mortimer knows without being told that she couldn't imagine raising one anywhere else. 

They had drifted apart during college, despite themselves. Mortimer is thrilled when Bella returned to town - there weren't many women like her, and Sunset Valley would be a worse place for her loss. 

He sets about reconnecting with her, and in some ways it's like they were never separated. In others... there is a note confidence, of self assurance in Bella that was never there before. It has nothing to do with arrogance; Bella has simply grown into herself. Mortimer finds that it suits her well. 

They being having dinner together regularly, and after some time Mortimer realizes he is being courted. He has no complaints. A singular woman like Bella could have anyone she wanted, and for her to choose him - no, he has no complaints at all. 

It's at one of these dinners that Bella presents him with her research. She has always been heavily involved with charity work, both here and while away at college, and during that time she has been conducting informal opinion surveys about Sunset Valley. Part of Mortimer wants to laugh, that she would put forth so much effort to settle this old argument, but a bigger part of him is impressed. This project of her has been going on for years, off and on, but it is flawless. Her questions excellent, always carefully posed so as not to sway opinions. The way her data has been recorded is near perfect, despite the vagaries of the answers she gets. There are published researchers Mortimer has met who could not do so good a job, and Bella did all this on a whim. 

Perhaps not a whim after all - this a was a careful decision on Bella's part, making her point in a way he would be sure to understand. He is, after all, a man of science before anything else, and Bella has taken that into consideration. It is in that moment that Mortimer realizes how much he loves Bella, and that he has loved her for some time. They've never actually discussed their future, but he's long been unable to imagine a future without her. Bella feels much the same way, if this gesture of understanding and acceptance is any indication. 

And one grand gesture deserves another. 

 

Raising a family had never seemed particularly important to him, until he'd considered raising a family with Bella. When he imagines clever, charming daughters who look like her, suddenly it seems a much more worthwhile proposition. The only question is how to tell her that. 

It's not long after that Mortimer finds his answer - or rather, his answer finds him. It's a few lines buried in the back of the local paper. Mortimer might never have seen, but he has an experiment running that needs a great deal of watching and not much to entertain himself with. 

Perhaps Bella had never been alone in her distaste for Sunset Valley's name, or perhaps her questions had stirred things up and given rise to this, but no matter the cause, the end result is the same. There is a small group pushing for a vote to change Sunset Valley's name. By themselves, they are a joke. But with a Goth's weight behind them, they gain traction quickly. 

He had dimly hoped to keep his involvement secret from Bella until the vote took place, but there wasn't much chance of it. Bella was too involved in the community, and she learned of it before much time had passed. She seemed very amused by the prospect. 

"Since when have you begun caring about Sunset Valley's name?" 

"I've been thinking about what you said," Mortimer told her. "And I came to the conclusion that a retirement home is no place to raise a family." 

Bella's eyes go wide as she realizes what he's asking, and then she says softly, "Most people would content themselves with buying a ring." 

"I could buy you any number of rings. I wished to give you something that required more effort on my part." 

"You've certainly succeeded there," Bella says, and she leans in for a kiss. When they break apart, she adds, "That was a yes, by the way." 

 

The vote is a long time coming, but Bella does not insist on waiting to be married until the name change has passed. And by the time their daughter comes along, a year and half after that, she is born in Pleasantview.


End file.
